Stamp-affixing device.



PATENTED NOV. 3, 1903.

J. J. PARGUE &-R. W. SMITH.

STAMP AFFIXING DEVICE. AP PLiOATION FILED 0019. 1902.

NO MODEL.

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UNITE STATES JOHN J. FARGUE AND ROBERT W.

Patented. November 3, 190

,SMITH, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALI- FORNIA; SAID FARGUE ASSIGNOR TO SAID SMITH.

.STAMP-AFFIXING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 743,263, dated November 3, 1903.

Application filed October 9, 1902.

To aIZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN J. FARGUE and ROBERT W. SMITH, citizens of the United States, residing in the city and county of San w Francisco, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Stamp-Aftixing Devices; and we hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

Our invention relates to a device for aflixing stamps to letters and packages.

It consists of a receptacle or carrier for the stamps, which are contained thereon in long strips, a mechanism for withdrawing the stamps from the carrier and transferring them into a horizontal, position above the point where they are to be attached mechanism for detaching a single stamp from the strip, mechanism for moistening the surface, and mechanism for pressing the stamp upon the moistened surface.

It also comprises details of construction, which will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is a vertical section. Figs. 3 and 4 are side views showing diiferent positions of the roller-carrying arms.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, A is a yoke or frame of any suitable form or description adapted to carry the operating mechanism of the apparatus. Across the upper part of this frame is a horizontal shaft 2, upon which is carried a hollow drum or receptacle 3, within which a strip of stamps may be coiled. One side of this drum is opened sufficiently to allow the strip to pass through the slot or opening. Thence it passes over a sort of a guide-pin, as 4, and thence it passes between the rollers 5, which are journaled across the lower part of the frame; These rollers may be rubber or other suitable sur-. faces, so that the stamps passing between them may be pressed upon sufficiently to be advanced by the revolution of i the rollers at the proper intervals. One of these rollers is here shown as having its shaft journaled in fulcrumed bell-crank lovers 6, pivoted upon each side of the frame, and by means of springs 7 a tension is produced upon these levers which holds the roller yieldingly against Serial No. 126,483. (No model.)

the other roller and provides a constant and 10 is a stop-plate against which the advancing edge of a stamp is arrested when it has reached the proper point and is ready to be severed and applied to the letter or package.

11 is a slotted plate adjacent to the feedrollers 5, through the slot in which the stamps are advanced, and when the stamp has thus been advanced across the space heneath the plate 8 the latter, fitting closely between the plates 10 and 11 and having a sharp corner moving contiguous to the plate 11, will act to sever the stamp from the remainder of the roll and at the same time press it down and apply it to the surface. In

order to cause the stamp to adhere, it is necessary to apply moisture'to either the stamp or the surface. It is objectionable to moisten the stamp, because the moisture will interfere with the proper application of the stamp, while causing them to sometimes adhere to the presser. We have therefore designed a means for moisteuing the surface to which the stamp is to be applied. This means consists of a roller 12, the shaft 13 of which passes through slots'14 in opposite sides of the frame and is journaled in the lower ends of pivoted swinging arms 15. These arms are here shown as pivoted and turnable about the shaft 2. The arms are preferably telescoped or formed in two parts, the lower part 15 being slidable upon the upper portion 15 as shown, so that the journals of the roller 12 may move in the horizontal slot 14, while the arms swing about their pivot-point, and the roller will thus travel horizontally across the surface to which the stamp is to be applied.

. slotted sides which are movable outside of the frame A, and the shaft 2 passes through the slots 17 of the yoke, thus forming a guide for the lower end, while the upper or horizontal portion of the yoke is perforated and is slidable upon the stem 18, which is fixed to the'top of the frame A. In order to recipro cate the yoke 16, we have shown a handle 19, fixed to the top of the yoke, and within this handle and within the hollow'stem 18 is a spring 20, which normally acts to raise the yoke and which may be compressed, when pressure is brought upon the handle 19 so that the yoke 16 may be pushed down with relation to the frame A by hand-pressure and will be returned to its normal position by the action of the spring 20. When the yoke is pushed down, the lower edges of its side member strike suitable pins projecting from the plate 8 through the slots 9 and carry said plate downward with the yoke.

The shaft of the upper roller 5 is here shown as provided with a pinion 21 on the outer end, and this is engaged by a gearwheel 22, mounted upon a shaft journaled horizontally in the frame and above the rollers 5. This shaft also-carries a ratchet-wheel 23, and this ratchet-wheel is engaged by a toothed rack 24, the upper end of which is pivoted to the slidable yoke 16, as shown at 25. 26 is a spring pressing against the back of the rack 24 to hold it in light contact with the ratchet 23, so that when the handle is pushed down, carrying with it the sliding yoke 16, the teeth of the ratchet-bar 24, engaging the ratchet 23, will turn it with its shaft and gear 22, and through its connection with the pinion 21 the feed-rollers 5 will also be turned and a stamp advanced across the space above the package to which it is to be applied. When the handle is released and the spring 20 acts to raiseit and the yoke, the spring 26 yields and allows the rack-bar 2% to move freely over the teeth of the ratchet 23, thus returning without rotating the ratchet.

In order to operate the moistening-roller 12, a lever-arm 27 projects at right angles from the upper part of the lever and in line with this arm a pin 28 is carried by the slidable yoke 16, so that when the yoke is raised by the action of the spring the pin 28 will be brought into contact with the arm 27 and will swing the lever-arm 15 15 so as to move the roller from the position shown in Fig. 4 to the one shown in Fig. 2 across the surface of the package to which the stamp is to be applied. As soon as the handle and sliding yoke are depressed a spring 29, which is connected with the lever 15, acts to draw it back again to the position shown in Fig. 4.

Between the vertical plate 10 and the outside of the casing A is a chamber which contains a moistening-sponge or other means of moistening the roller 12, as shown at 30. The lower part of the plate 10 is cut away or so disposed as to allow the roller 12 to pass into contact with the moistening substance within the chamber, and the surface of the roller being formed of felt or other suitable absorbent will be sufficiently moistened by this contact, so that it is'always ready to be advanced across the surface and to moisten it sufficiently to receive a stamp, being returned each time by the return movement of the slide. In this manner the stamps may be rapidly and mechanically aflixed to letters or packages of any description.

The normal position of the roller 12 is to the right of the apparatus, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2; but when the handle 19 is depressed the spring 29 will cause the roller to travel over into the space between the rear wall of A and the vertical wall 10 to be moistened through capillary attraction of contact with the sponge. In actual operation if the machine has stood any'length of time the first reciprocation would simply move the roller across the stamping-chamber without wetting the paper and the severed stamp would be saved and stuck on in the ordinary manner. If the roller is very dry, the handle would be held down a moment until the roller would be moistened sufficiently. Thereupon the 1noistening, severing, and sticking the stamps would go on in the manner contemplated. These devices, it is understood, are generally used where there are a great many letters to be stamped at one time. The reason why the roller works in the way shown rather than in the opposite direction is that it is desired to move the roller 12 entirely out side the path of movement of the plate 8, which cannot well be done if the roller 12 was to rest underneath rollers 5 when the cutter 8 was descending.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A stamp-affixing device consisting of a frame, a stamp-receptacle contained therein,

.guides over which the stamps are led and feed-rollers between which they are adapted to pass horizontally through the lower part of the frame, pivoted bell-crank levers on the outer sides of the frame having springs connected with one of the arms, and the journalshafts of one of the feed-rollers turnable in the other whereby an adjustable pressurefeed is obtained, a vertically guided and slidable yoke, a ratchet-bar having one end pivoted to the yoke and the other loose, a spring pressing against the back of the bar, a ratchet mounted upon one of the feed-roller shafts and gearing through which motion is transmitted to rotate the rollers by the depression .of the sliding yoke and a spring by which the yoke is returned when released.

2. A stamp-afiixing device consisting of a frame, having slots horizontally across its lower portion,a stamp-container located with ICC IIO

in the frame, feed-rollers between which the stamps are led, a vertically guided and slidable yoke and rack-and-ratchet mechanism actuated thereby to revolve the rollers, and a roller located in the lower part of the frame and adapted to pass across the surface to which the stamp is to be affixed, and to moisten said surface, and a shaft passing through the roller and having its ends mounted to slide in the horizontal slots of the frame.

3. A stamp-affixing device consisting of a frame,feed-ro1lers journaled thereon,a stampcontaining receptacle, guides by which a strip of stamps is delivered between the feed-rollers, a vertically guided and slidable yoke, rack-and-ratchet mechanism throughwhich motion is communicated to rotate the feedrollers when the yoke is depressed, a plate 10 fixed to the frame and spaced from one wall thereof to form a moisture-containing receptacle located in the lower part of the frame, a horizontally-guided transverselymovable absorbent-roller adapted to receive and transmit moisture, said roller having a shaft and said frame having its sides provided with horizontal slots in which the ends of said shaft slide, and swinging lever-arms in the ends of which the roller-shaft is journaled and contact-arms by which the levers are moved to cause the roller to travel across the surface.

4. A stamp-affixing device consisting of a main frame, having feed-rollers journaled therein, a stamp-containing receptacle, mechanism by which the rollers areturned and stamps delivered across'the lower part of the frame, a moisture-containing receptacle located upon one side of the lower part of the frame, an absorbent-roller, a spring by which it is drawn in contact with the moisture-receptacle, and fulcru med levers in the ends of which the roller-shaft is journaled, said levers having projecting arms, and a slidable yoke having pins adapted to contact with the arms and move them so as to cause the roller to travel across the surface to be moistened.

, rocating yoke and rack-and-ratchet and intermediatemechanism whereby the rollers are turned to advance the stamps at each reciprocation of the yoke, a spring-retracted absorbent-roller guided and movable transversely across the lower part of the frame and adapted to moisten the surface to which the stamps are to be affixed, telescopic leverarms in the lower ends of which the moistening-roller shaft is journaled, the upper ends of the arms being pivoted, and contact-arms by which the lovers are moved to cause the roller to traverse the surface when the yoke is depressed.

6. A stamp-affixing device consisting of a frame, feed-rollers journaled therein, a vertically-guided slidable yoke, a rack-and-ratchet mechanism actuated by the reciprocation of the yoke to turn the rollers and advance the stamps, a moistening-roller movable transversely over the surface and connections by which it is actuated by the movement of the yoke, a spring normally tending to draw the roller into contact with the moistener .said roller held against the power of said spring by the upward or normal position of the yoke, and a vertically-slidable pressure-plate beneath which the stamps are delivered, said plate acting to sever each stamp from the roller and to apply it to the moistened surface.

frame having a moistening-chamber, feedrollers journaled on one side of the lower part of the frame, a stamp-receptacle and guides by which the strip of stamps is delivered to be advanced by the feedr0llers, a verticallyguided yoke, rack-and-ratchet connections whereby the rollers are turned by the depression of the yoke, a vertically guided and movable plate and vertical walls between which it is movable, one of said walls having a horizontal slot registering with the space between the feed-rollers, whereby the stamps are projected therethrough beneath the plate, a moistening-roller, means controlled by the yoke for holding the roller away from the moistening-chamber and a spring tending to normally draw the roller toward said chamher and by which it is caused to traverse-the surface to which the stamp is to be applied, the vertically-moving plate acting to shear each stamp from the roll where it is projected through the slot in the vertical wall and to apply it to the surface.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set Our hands.

JOHN J. FARGUE. ROBERT W. SMITH.

Witnesses:

S. D. Woons,

ADELINE COPELAND.

7. A stamp-affixing device consisting of a IKO 

